Marion R. Behr was honored with the Audubon Artists Merit Award and the Purchase Award from the American Impressions Ben Shahn Gallery at William Paterson University.
SOMERVILLE, NJ, December 06, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Marion R. Behr with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mrs. Behr has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her fields. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Ever since she was a child, Mrs. Behr has excelled in the arts, earning her first recognition at the age of 7 when she took part in a book illustration competition for "Dimples and Cock Sure" by Phyllis Frazer. The book contained empty pages which were to be illustrated by children of all ages. She earned first place for her illustrations in both her local age group and in the national competition in 1946.
An accomplished artist, Mrs. Behr had one-woman shows featuring paintings, prints, and sculptures, including at Douglass Residential College in 1983, Pargot Gallery in 1989, B. Beamesderfer Gallery in 1992, El Dorado Gallery in 1992, Hunterdon Art Museum in 1993 and 1998, and the Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano in 1999. Further one-woman shows include Discover Jersey Arts in 2005, Steeplechase Cancer Center in 2008, Center for Contemporary Art 2002, and in 2009 the show was sponsored by a grant from Ortho-McNeil, National Association of Women Artists Inc. Gallery in 2010, OSI Pharmaceutical Gallery in 2010 and Walter Meade Gallery in 2012.
Outside of these exhibitions, Mrs. Behr has exhibited in group shows at Contemporary American Artists in 1964, Douglass Residential College in 1997, Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery in 1989, John Szoke Gallery in 1989, and 80 Washington Square East Gallery in 1990. She also held exhibitions within group shows at Juniper Gallery in 1991, the El Dorado Gallery in 1992, the B. Beamesderfer Gallery in 1992, Artsquad Gallery in 1993, and Lever House in 1995. Other group shows include the Cheltenham Center for the Arts in 1996, Cork Gallery in 1996, Stark & Stark in 1998, and the National Academy Museum (now the National Academy of Design) in 1998.
Mrs. Behr also featured in shows at Krasdale Gallery in 1998, Audubon Artists in 1995, 1997 and 1999, Grounds for Sculpture in 2001, German Architecture Center in 2004, and at 80 Fifth Ave Gallery in 2004. In 1993, 1996, 2002, 2004, and 2005, she was featured in group shows at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She also exhibited art at Ortho Gallery in 2006, Red Brick Gallery in 2006, and Ben Shahn Gallery in 2006 and 2011.
Beyond being featured in shows, Mrs. Behr has work in permanent print collections at Newark Public Library, Pierro Gallery, and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Art History. Bringing her art abroad, she has work in permanent print collections in the Bethanien Gallery in Berlin, Germany and the Thai Royal Art Collection in Bangkok, Thailand. Moreover, she served as curator and contributor for the "World of Electroetch" Print Show, containing work from internationally recognized artists. As the creator of the MyLyne Drawing Blog, she wished to overcome language barriers between artists who love to draw by creating a blog where no words were needed.
From 1962 to 1977, she lent her talents to publications for stories, crafts, magazine covers and toy designs in national magazines including McCall's, Good Housekeeping, Lady's Circle and Family Circle Magazine.
In 1977, Mrs. Behr illustrated "The Jewish Holiday Book" for Doubleday.
In 1978, Mrs. Behr created the first national survey directed to women working from their homes, called "Women Working Home-the Invisible Workforce."
In addition, she was adamant about fighting for the rights of women who worked from their homes, for which Mrs. Behr received a Presidential appointment to The White House Conference on Small Business from President Ronald Reagan. She spoke in front of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Labor Department members and was ultimately able to be influential in helping to get laws changed.
Through her first publishing house, WWH Press Inc. Mrs. Behr compiled and published two editions of "Women Working Home: The Homebased Business Guide and Directory" in 1981 and 1983 along with Wendy Lazar, which sold 50,000 copies. Through this work, she coined the phrase "home-based business" as opposed to "cottage industry." Moreover, she authored "Coed Do Their Homework," "Homebased Business Laws-Keeping Up with the 'Zones'" in 1987, "The Little Red Schoolhouse Ain't What It Used to Be," "Caution! Parents at Work," and "Zoning Ins and Outs" in 1988 which were published in her Homebased Business Column in Entrepreneur Magazine.
Other contributions of Mrs. Behr's include articles in popular art journals from 1991 to 1998 and in popular magazines from 1988 to 1989. Her sculptures, made by restructuring radiation cradles, were recently shown at the Summit Medical Group, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Visions of Hope and Voices of the Journey in 2017 and in Beyond Pink in 2018.
After many years at WWH Press Inc., Mrs. Behr's books were sold out. Because of this, she returned to her love of the arts through etching. However, she became ill from overexposure to acid fumes. As a result, she and her husband co-invented a non-toxic, acid-free mode of art etching of copper and zinc, which replaces acid but incorporates traditional etching methods. This new invention led to their creating ElectroEtch Enterprises. Their process was acquired by universities and studios internationally.
Mrs. Behr and her husband installed ElectroEtch, taught and established non-toxic etching at Stanford University, Druckwerkstatt Bethanien, Syracuse University, the University Al Mu'tamid Ibn Abbad, the Holman Eskimo Co-op Art Center at Holman Island in the Northwest Territories of Canada, and Howard University, as well as at the Centro de Los Artes, San Agustin Etla in Mexico and the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (now known as the Ara Institute of Canterbury), the Universal College of Learning, and the University of Alaska Southeast and Fairbanks.
The first of the ElectroEtch patents 5102520 and 5112453 was selected by The New York Times as patent of the week on May 2, 1992. Her artistic triumphs have since been featured in Printmaking Today, ChemTech and Leonardo. She co-wrote "Environmentally Safe Etching" in 1987 and "Etching and Tone Creation Using Low-Voltage Anodic Electrolysis" in 1991. She also wrote "Setting the Record Straight" in 1993, "Electroetch, a Safe Etching System" in 1995, and "Electroetch II" in 1998.
Alongside additional authors, Mrs. Behr wrote "Surviving Cancer: Our Voices & Choices" in 2014, a compilation of articles contributed by 70 individuals including doctors, oncologists, healthcare providers, and survivors. She compiled, illustrated and published this book through her publishing house WWH Press LLC. From 2014 to 2018, she was a speaker at retreats for many groups of survivors and a creator of panel presentations for survivors.
Ultimately, the book was recommended by Cure Magazine, Cancer Care, Library Journal, Huffington Post, Publishers Weekly, and many others. Furthermore, it has been awarded three medals in 2015, including the Gold Medal for Health and Fitness from the Independent Publishers, named a Medalist for Excellence in Independent Publishing for a Special Book, New Apple, and honored with the President's Book Gold Medal for Health and Fitness, Florida Authors Publishers Association.
Mrs. Behr has been featured on extensive radio and TV shows representing The National Alliance of Homebased Business and Women Working Home: The Homebased Business Guide and Directory. Interviews in major magazines included feature articles in Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, New Woman and Changing Times. Some of the TV interviews she has done include The Phil Donahue Show, several episodes of Good Morning America, and a number of AM America programs in various states. As a result of Surviving Cancer: Our Voices and Choices, there were more radio programs and interviews.
Mrs. Behr received a Bachelor of Arts in education and a teaching certificate from the state of New York in 1961 and a Master of Fine Arts in painting the following year from Syracuse University, an institution that awarded her with a scholarship. Subsequently, she studied etching under master printer Mohammad Kahlil at Parsons School of Design, The New School. She has taught at Rutgers, F.I.T. and Kean University.
Over the years, Mrs. Behr has been actively involved in a number of organizations at varying times including: the National Alliance of Home-Based Business Women, which she originated, co-founded, and served as legislative chair from 1982 to 1985. She was also the first president from 1980 to 1982. Other organizations she maintained memberships in included the Women's Caucus for Art, Audubon Artists, the National Association of Women Artists and the Society of American Graphic Artists.
More organizations in which Mrs. Behr has been involved include the Print Council of New Jersey, the Southern Graphics Council (now SGC International), the Women's Business Ownership Educational Conference, Inc. the White House Conference on Free Enterprise Zones, and the Kean for Governor Campaign. Additionally, she was president of Women Working Home Press Inc. from 1980 to 1986 and appointed to the New Jersey Development Authority for Small, Minority and Women's Business Commission at the same time. A trustee of the Women's Business Ownership Educational Conference Inc. in 1981, she also is a founding member of the Rural Women's Committee in Washington, DC.
For her outstanding accomplishments, Mrs. Behr has been awarded many times. In addition to being named New Jersey Women in Business Advocate of the Year through the US Small Business Administration and national runner-up, she received the Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation Humanities Grant for Arts and Humanities. This allowed her to create portfolios of 50 plates and prints comparing acid etching to ElectroEtching prints. One of the portfolios of comparison prints and several other prints, were later acquired by the Smithsonian. In 1988, her work was selected to be included in the Social Science Research Council Corporate Collection.
She was profiled in "Who's News" of New Women, named Woman of the Year in Business and Industry by the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, and given the Rotary International's Best of Branchburg Visual Artist Award.
In recognition of her numerous successes, Mrs. Behr was honored with the Audubon Artists Merit Award and the Purchase Award from the American Impressions Ben Shahn Gallery at William Paterson University. She was named Artist of the Month of August in 2005 by the Discover Jersey Arts ArtPride New Jersey Foundation and the Arts Council of New Jersey, now known as the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She was profiled in Le Matin in Asilah, Morocco and was a grantee to the Centro de Las Artes de San Augustín Etla from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.
Mrs. Behr attributes her success to her father, Justin Max Rosenfeld, her mother, Sophie Rosenfeld Lustik, her husband, Omri Marc Behr, and her business advisor for many years, Elizabeth Lyons. They all contributed to help her achieve her goals in life. She enjoys practicing photography, reading, gardening, swimming, and visiting her three children and five grandchildren.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to her profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Marion R. Behr has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
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